The Scent of Love
by Zane's Girl- Jo
Summary: In times of war, sometimes, the only companion a soldier has is the gun. But sometimes, there's another companion, one that is just as strong as a weapon, and is far more valuable than any gun. For Sergeant Lupo, the scars of battle would be hidden, raw and bleeding, but she would not carry them alone. Pre-Eureka, to end of series.
1. Chapter 1

**************The Scent of Love**

**************R****ifiuto: Non Miriena**

**************Summary: In times of war, sometimes, the only companion a soldier has is the gun. But sometimes, there's another companion, one that is just as strong as a weapon, and is far more valuable than any gun. For Sergeant Lupo, the scars of battle would be hidden, raw and bleeding, but she would not carry them alone. Pre-Eureka, to end of series. **

_"There are so many jobs now that dogs are being used for- Originally it was kind of looked at as that patrol dog or the bomb-detection dog, but now they're being used to find the IEDs [improved explosive devices]. Some of them are actually being used for therapy in the field, which is really incredible. But they're starting to look at all of the different potential components that these dogs can contribute to...and the detection area is so important because these dogs are better than any machine that we have — and they can save lives."_

_- NPR Interview_

"I'm proud of you, Josefina."

I've heard that my entire life. The only time I didn't hear those words, was when I slammed Luca into the doorway of my room, breaking his nose and fracturing a clavicle in the process. I was eight, and hadn't realized my own strength.

Sometimes I still don't.

The black of the uniform was crisp and smooth; it'd been hanging in my closet since I'd started at The Point, a constant reminder of what I was working towards. I'd started at fourteen instead of eighteen; Dad had pulled some major strings to get me in. And, being Colonel Lupo's only daughter, well, I had a bit of a disadvantage at fourteen. At seventeen, I still had disadvantages.

"I know, Dad. I'm well aware of how proud you are of me." I replied. Davie rolled his eyes.

"Jeez Jojo, you could at least act grateful that Dad's proud of you. He had to get clearance to come to your graduation."

"It's not every day your only daughter graduates from The Point." Dad said, beaming. I lowered my head, swallowing.

"I know, Davie. I... I am, I just... I'm nervous."

"About what? Graduation's over. You don't have to come back here ever again." Luca said.

"I get it. She's worried about her new deployment." Ricco piped up, setting his cup down. I turned to glare at him.

"I'm not nervous about my deployment! I'm not a... a chicken like you." I replied, hands on my hips.

"I'm not a chicken, Jojo. I'm the smart one, remember?" I rolled my eyes.

"Right. I forgot, nearly getting yourself blown up in Desert Storm is real smart." I could see Ricco's eyes darken, and before I could blink, he had me over his shoulder, headed for the grass on the quad.

"Ricco! Put me down!"

_"Tommass! You put Josefina down this instant!"_ He stopped, and minutes later, I felt him set me back on my feet. Not even the strictest drill sergeant could ignite that much fear into my brothers. Only Dad. Once I'd regained my balance, I punched my brother hard in the arm before returning to the table we'd been sitting at.

"God, Jojo, you sure pack a punch." I couldn't help smiling at him.

"Ah, you know, six point knock out. Nothing major." I replied, sitting next to Dad.

"Just because you graduated with top honors, like the rest of us."

"And matched every honor, every achievement. I made a mark on that school, not you!" I said, turning on Luca. Sometimes, being the only girl- and the baby at that- is a real pain in the ass.

"And thank god you did. I don't think I could handle listening to another Ricco, Davie or Luca achievement. It's about time that school got a taste of Josie." I turned, and, I admit it, I squealed. I don't do it often, so it's foreign. At least to me.

"Gwen!" I rushed to her, throwing my arms around her and nearly sending us both to the grass.

"Thank god she went for Gwen instead of us first." I heard Lan's voice, and Tam's muffled reply.

"You came! Thank god! I was afraid you wouldn't come!"

"And miss seeing you finally leave The Point? Not a chance." Gwen said, pulling away and letting Tam wrap me in a hug.

The fact that my three best friends had managed to come to my graduation, especially since they all finally graduated from their own schools. Unlike most girls, Lan, Gwen, Tam and I grew up on military bases- our dads all served in the Army, same division, and so we spent the majority of our childhoods being shuffled from one base to the next, leaving one school before enrolling in another. By the time we four turned ten, we'd all lived not only in the U.S., but also various parts of Europe, Canada, Central and South America, and Mexico.

We'd been shipped off to our respective schools all at age fourteen- too much trouble for our parents, together or apart. And now, finally, after four years, we were all together again. For a while, anyway.

"Oh, Jo, before I forget, I got you something. For graduation." I turned from my conversation with my friends, to see my dad set a box on the grass at my feet.

"Dad? Wh... what did you get me? A... a komodo dragon?" I couldn't fight the push of curiousity pulling me toward the box, and I looked up at him, waiting for his reply. He chuckled.

"No. Luca wanted to get you that, but I put my foot down. I figured that this... this would help you get through a lot of those... unnerving, sleepless nights on deployment. I know when I had it, it helped me."

Utterly and completely curious now, I knelt down and lifted the lid, to find myself staring into the light blue eyes of a puppy. After a moment, I tilted the box onto its side, and backed up, letting it come to me.

"Oh a puppy!" Tam cried; she may be the blonde, but she's no ditz, and when it comes to animals, well, if she could, she'd adopt every animal in every shelter, no matter the cost.

"Come here. I won't hurt you." I whispered to it, and slowly, it moved out of the box, coming towards me.

"What kind is it?" Gwen asked, turning to my dad.

"Newfoundland and Husky mix. Two months old."

"She's just a baby." I said, scooping her up once she got close enough and holding her to me, allowing her to lick at my face.

"You gave her a dog? You _do realize_ this is _Jojo_ we're talking about, right?" Davie said. "She can barely take care of herself, let alone another human being, let alone a puppy."

I glared at him. "Shove it, Davie!" I replied, throwing my cap at him. He pulled away, sticking his tongue out at me.

"What are you going to name her, Josie?" Lan asked, sitting beside me to stroke her fur.

"I don't know."

"She's so adorable." Tam said, joining us; Gwen rolled her eyes, before kneeling down and giving into the cuteness of the puppy. Gwen's tough, but even she can't resist a puppy.

"She looks like a small pile of ash in a giant land of green." Gwen said, running her fingers through the puppy's fur.

"That's it!"

"What's it, Josie?" Tam asked. I turned to her.

"Ashland." I turned back to Gwen and leaned over, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Thank you Gwen, I love you, you're a genius." Her brow furrowed.

"What'd I say?" But I didn't get a chance to explain, because when I looked up next, the Dean of The Point was standing before me, holding out a slip of paper. I put the puppy on the grass and stood.

"Sorry to interrupt, Lupo, but I have your orders."

"Orders?" I took the paper, unfolding it.

"What's it say?" After a moment, I looked back at Dad.

"I... I've been assigned."

"To where?" Ricco asked, coming to read over my shoulder.

"To... to Iraq."

"Why?" Tam asked, scooping up the puppy.

"To... to fight. It says we... we've been attacked."


	2. Chapter 2

**************R****ifiuto: Non Miriena**

_We've been attacked. We've been attacked. The Pentagon was struck. The White House nearly hit. The World Trade Center has fallen._

I didn't notice anything as I dumped my jacket and hat on the sofa. It had been a fifteen minute drive to my brother Ricco's place, but the drive had gone by in a blur.

"What happened?" I entered the living room just in time to watch a plane- that I later learned was United Flight 175- crash into the North Tower. My knees weakened at the sight, as images of people- hundreds of stories up- pressed against the windows in desperate attempts to get air.

Minutes later, my brothers, my friends, my father and I watched as the second plane crashed into the South Tower, as people began jumping from windows, flying towards the ground. I felt sick; Gwen, Tam, Lan and I had spent two weeks in July in New York, seeing and doing everything we could. Our last stop, had been the World Trade Center. Tam's older sister had been a hostess in the Windows on the World restaurant on the top floor of the North Tower, and we'd spent an hour, chatting with her and catching up, enjoying the beautiful view of New York below us. I felt my stomach drop as I realized...

_"Jadie! Jadie, pick up! Please! Jadie, just give me a call and let me know that you're okay... that you got out all right..."_

I'd been at Tam's graduation the week before, and Jadie had been all too excited to see me. The possibility, the mere thought, that Jadie could be at work, trapped on the top floor, with no way out but the windows that led hundreds of feet down...

_"Jadie, please..."_

I went to her, wrapping an arm tight around her shoulders. We all watched, silent, as news footage continued to roll, as people threw themselves from windows and ran into the street. And then, finally, we watched, as first the South Tower collapsed. I glanced at the clock; 102 minutes had passed, and still, the North Tower stood.

And then, as I began to breathe a sigh of relief that maybe everything would be okay, we all watched in horror as the North Tower began to crumble, collapsing in on itself, crumbling one floor at a time, slowly, like a flag unfurling in the wind. A mushroom cloud of dust enveloped Lower Manhattan, and as people onscreen ran for their lives, Tam collapsed, taking me with her.

We hit the floor together, one sobbing openly now, the other in silent shock. I felt tears begin to gather in my eyes, and I struggled to breathe. In a feeble attempt to comfort, I tried to block her vision, but Tam refused to take her eyes off the space where the building her sister had last been alive in, had stood.

I could hear soft sobs, ragged breaths, and stunned silence. I knew Gwen would be struggling to remain calm, Lan would be wiping the tears off her cheeks; I knew Dad would be silent, thinking of the best way to get back at the bastards that did this to us.

I knew I was in shock; that much I was sure of.

I held Tam, tangling my fingers in her hair, lending as much comfort as I could without opening my mouth, for fear I'd start sobbing. Someone had to be the strong one; that job always had and always will fall to me. I needed to be strong now more than ever.

Jadie was dead, along with thousands of others, and we had all watched them die, tucked away safe in our homes. It would be a miracle if anyone came out of an attack like that alive. It would be even more of a miracle if there was anything left of Jadie for Tam and her family to bury.

I prayed to God that the last image Jadie's two boys had of her was of her smiling and laughing, not crumbling to the hot Manhattan sidewalk with the rest of the victims as the towers crumbled beneath their feet.

The sound of beeping reached my ears, and I picked up Tam's phone.

_One missed call_ flashed before my eyes.

Biting my lip, I pressed the button. I've regretted that decision ever since.

_"Tammi? Tammi, it's me."_

I caught my breath as Jadie's voice, frantic yet calm, entered the quiet of the living room.

_"Tammi, Tammi, listen, I know I said that I would be there for Josie's graduation, but I can't make it. Something's happened. Something's hit the tower and... and...and_ _I've tried getting downstairs, but the elevators aren't working._ _They're saying that half of the lower floors are gone. We're trapped... we're all trapped here on the 106th floor... Tammi, I need you to call Mom and Dad and Matt, let them know... tell them I love them, and that I'm sorry I won't be there for thier anniversary. When you see Nick and Jake, hug and kiss them for me, please. Tell them I love them, and that I'll be looking over them-over all of you. I promise. Tell Josie that I'm sorry I didn't make her graduation, but that I'm proud of her. I'm proud of all of you. It was so wonderful to see you all at your graduation, Tammi. The four of you have grown up so much. I only wish we could have had more days like that July afternoon... that one day wasn't enough. I'm so sorry... I love you, Tammi. I love all of you. Remember that."_

I dropped the phone, burying my face in my hands in an attempt to calm down. But I couldn't.

"She was dieing, and yet she was apologizing for missing my graduation." I couldn't contain it anymore, and burst into tears. "I'm sorry Tam, I'm so sorry!" I climbed to my feet and rushed outside, fleeing to the backyard. When I looked up next, it was to see the puppy Dad had bought me for graduation coming towards me, lumbering into my lap. She licked my face, an attempt at comfort. All I could do was wrap my arms around her, bury my face in her soft downy fur and cry.


End file.
